August... in a whirl!

This August's vacation was definitely one of our most unique and adventurous vacations. It was also kind of bittersweet because I know it will be the last time I will ever be able to enjoy a vacation for three whole weeks! I feel lucky to have a job that allows me ample vacation time and know that once we move back to the States that I won't be this lucky. :(
Here are some of my favorite photos from Costa Rica and Dallas.

Here's Chris ziplining through the rainforest.. like a natural.

Me ziplining.. not as much of a natural. I accidentally braked on the first run (there were twelve different stretches), got stuck, and had to pull myself in instead of "zipping" or sliding through. Oops. After that I got the hang of it and was fine.

Juan Aleman took us fishing one day. This is when we saw the whales, soaring through the air!

We drank frequently from these pipas, which were basically coconuts that weren't ripe.

You can't really tell, but there's a porcupine in this photo. We saw it in the Monteverde rain and cloud forest.

In the Monteverde cloud forest.

We ate really well! My favorite were the plantains and corn tortillas. The food was very similar to Mexican food. DELISH.

These were the sweet little signs that MC made for me on the day of my birthday. Thanks to my sah-weet photography skillz, you can't really read them. But they say "30 is the new 20," "the world needs more L.A's," "Whoop," and many other delightful things. She also decorated the hotel room with balloons! It was a big surprise, because I had no idea she and the gang were doing all of this. I mean, I went to bed before them only ONE night (wink wink) and the sneaky little terds were decorating right under my nose! :)

This is the one night that us girls cooked! The boys usually spoiled us with their cooking each night, but this night was our night to prepare some tastiness for our men.

We were lucky enough to see a turtle lay eggs on our hotel beach. This only happens ONE day out of the year and we were fortunate enough to experience it and see it with our own eyes.

After Costa Rica, we were able to hang out with the fam.

I also got to meet JM and KS's little ones. :)

On the boat w/ my new buddy.

Julio and I on the boat.

Out for sushi with the girls.

After our whirlwind time in the States and Costa Rica, we came back right in time for J&S's wedding, where I was a bridesmaid.

The wedding took place at a lovely setting in Chianti, near Siena.

It was a gorgeous wedding!